Montana State has had its fair share of success with in-state walk-ons during the Rob Ash era. Last February, Ash invited five Montana products to join the Bobcats for fall camp. Four were invited to return.
As fall camp winds down at MSU, running back Noah James, tight end Wilson Brott, linebacker Koni Dole and wide receiver John D’Agostino are all fighting for playing time as they enter their redshirt freshmen seasons.
Dole with Josh Hill
“They are probably a little but ahead of schedule,” Ash said. “They are in the mix for special teams spots, for travel squad spots. That’s great for guys in their first year of eligibility as a walk on.
Players like senior wide receiver Manny Kalfell, junior captain running back Chad Newell and sophomore linebacker Mac Bignell have all walked the path before. All three are now slated starters and scholarship players for the Bobcats.
“Top to bottom, we have guys who came in under the same circumstances and excelled, guys like Chad, Mac, and all the way back to (2014 captain linebacker) Cole Moore,” James said last week. “Those are guys I look up to. I realized that if I follow their examples, do the right things and do what’s asked of you, you find a way to get ahead.”
The quartet admitted to being intimidated and harboring doubt if they could play at the Division I level. Each leaned on one another and their older teammates who had been through the same trials during the transition.
Johnny D’Agostino
D’Agostino joined the Bobcats after a Class AA first-team All-State and state championship senior season at Bozeman High. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder excelled on the scout team last fall and shined during his first spring drills. This fall camp, he’s pushed sophomore Jayshawn Gates, the incumbent backup slot receiver behind senior Mitch Griebel, for a spot in the rotation.
“I was a little intimidated at first but when you get here, everyone treats each other the same,” D’Agostino said. “You don’t get treated differently because you are a walk-on. That really helped me out being part of the team right away.”
D’Agostino has put on nearly 10 pounds since joining the Bobcats. During Saturday’s scrimmage, he caught a team-high six passes, mostly on bubble screens to the outside.
“Johnny D, he’s coming along and he made a case…he and Jayshawn, that battle is hot for that No. 2 slot receiver,” Ash said following Saturday’s scrimmage. “I’m not sure we learned anything because we both played well. That’s good problem to have.”
James might’ve been a scholarship player if not for a gruesome injury that cost him the final month of his senior season at Kalispell Glacier High. In the first round of the playoffs, James, a first-team all-state selection who led AA in rushing up to that point, broke his leg. He fought back to full health while wrestling the decision to either take scholarship money from a Frontier Conference school or roll the dice as a preferred walk-on at Montana State.
Noah James
“There was definitely a couple of nights when I laid in bed during fall camp where I thought, ‘What am I doing? Do I belong here?’ There were definitely some doubts I had and I think that overall, it actually effected my performance,” James said. “I played worse than I was capable of playing at that time. I’m not doing that anymore. I don’t wonder any more.”
He worked in the off-season to add strength and size to his tall, broad 6-foot-1 frame. He reported to fall camp at 205 pounds. During the session he’s proven to be powerful and durable. He rushed for 69 yards on a scrimmage-high 14 carries last Saturday, including a 5-carry, 33-yard drive that ended when he punched in a touchdown from five yards out.
“Being bigger is helping with my confidence,” James said. “I didn’t feel like a tall, skinny running back anymore. I feel like I have a little more to work with.”
James has solidified himself as the fifth running back in an offense that figures to play five tailbacks. Newell, junior Gunnar Brekke, sophomore Nick LaSane and redshirt freshman Tavon Dodd are the other backs in the rotation.
Brott was also a Class AA standout as a senior at Billings West but at a completely different position. The 6-foot-6 Brott came to Montana State weighing less than 200 pounds after playing quarterback and power forward for most of his Billings West athletic career.
Wilson Brott
“I was a little intimidated just because I had to switch from quarterback to tight end,” Brott said. “I really had no idea what I was doing as far as blocking and stuff like that. I kind of had a feel for the pass game just because I’d watch the receivers run routes obviously when I was playing quarterback. It was definitely a little intimidating but they accept people really well around here, so it wasn’t that hard of a transition.”
Following his time in the dorms, Brott moved into a house with James and D’Agostino. Dole has been rooming with them this summer as well. Brott has spent a good amount of time in the off-season trying to put on as much weight as possible in an effort to hang while lining up on the outside of the offensive line.
“I got up to 257 for awhile, so I put on since my senior year of high school, 60 pounds,” Brott said with a laugh. “Now I slimmed down a little bit to 240. I was eating a lot and all of it wasn’t good weight at first. But I’ve slimmed down and gotten down to a better weight.”
Of the five preferred walk-ons signed in February of 2014, Dole might be the one that had the toughest uphill climb. The former Class B All-State defensive end and fullback has gone through a much-chronicled struggle with adversity since breaking his leg his junior year at Huntley Project High. The compound fracture led to complications stemming from compartment syndrome and his leg eventually had to be amputated.
Within six months, he was wrestling at the Class B state tournament. Within nine months, he was participating in Montana State’s individual camp for high school standouts, playing linebacker while using a cheetah blade prosthetic leg. By the fall of his senior year, he was again wreaking havoc on opponents. And by February, he’d earned a spot to join the Bobcats.
“He’s an inspiration to everybody,” Montana State head coach Rob Ash said in an interview during spring drills. “He doesn’t want to be singled out so I hate to do that but I’m going to because he is just such an inspiration to everybody. We call him the ‘Excuse Eliminator’. He’s a guy everyone looks up to.”
Dole
On the scout team last fall, Dole initially struggled with his lateral movements and his pass coverage. But he’s steadily improved, working his way onto the depth chart during spring drills and serving as a fixture on the third-team defense thus far this fall camp.
“I have my own way of doing things,” Dole said in an interview last week. “It’s not a matter of when I’m going to do it, it’s just how I’m going to do it. It’s just me fighting my own way. I can do everything anyone else can, I just have to find my own way of doing it.
“I like being able to find my role and help this team however I can. Our motto for the year is W.I.N. which is for what’s important now. That’s what we’ve been doing every day, playing for this team.”
Dole said he’s had moments of doubt since joining the Bobcats. Those thoughts pail in comparison to the intense mental battle he had to endure when he first lost his leg. Having other classmates in the same boat has helped Dole stay focused.
“Wilson Brott and I are from the same area and so we got to be close,” Dole said. “I’ve been rooming with him all summer. The mindset we’ve had is we know we are going to have to work harder than everyone else. We have to do what we can to get noticed and we know our time will be on special teams before it’s before anything else.”
D’Agostino has made a case to be in the receiver rotation and James has done the same within the running backs group. Brott is fighting with redshirt freshman Curtis Amos for the backup tight end position behind senior Beau Sandland. Junior Austin Barth is the incumbent backup but will miss as many as five weeks after having his appendix out earlier this month. Dole finds himself behind redshirt freshman Grant Collins, junior Fletcher Collins and senior Robert Walsh for reps at Mike linebacker. He’s behind sophomore Blake Braun and Marcus Tappan at Will, a spot Walsh can also play. Special teams will certainly be the first place the quartet can earn top position on the depth chart.
“All four of those other guys are vying to get in the mix on special teams,” MSU special teams coordinator Daniel DaPrato said. “The tough part is I don’t really get to pick offense and defense but I do get to pick (kick) teams. But we tell our guys to show up on film offensively and defensively and we will find a spot for you on the bus.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
